To think John Davidson and BAFTA owe an apology

[notaurewhatusername]

I have sympathy for anyone with Tourette’s. I genuinely do. It’s a difficult condition and I’m not for one second suggesting John Davidson is a bad person or that he chose to say what he said. But sympathy for a condition doesn’t mean the impact on others gets ignored.

Intent matters but so does impact. If I accidentally stand on someone’s foot I still say sorry, even though I didn’t mean to do it. “I didn’t mean it” and “I acknowledge I hurt you” are not mutually exclusive. I wouldn’t get annoyed at the suggestion of apologising simply because I didn’t mean it, so why is this different? Especially as it was a public stage in front of millions. I don’t expect John to apologise every day in normal interactions, but at such a public forum - he should. Michael B Jordan looked visibly devastated. It was so sad.

When he saw two Black men and the n-word came out — not H**ky at the white hosts for example, not some other neutral word, the n-word directed at Black people in the room — that caused real harm to real people. Tourette’s tics are shaped by what the brain reaches for as most “forbidden” in a given moment, and what it reached for when he saw two Black men was a racial slur aimed at them. That raises really uncomfortable questions about unconscious bias that most people would rather sidestep entirely.

It doesn’t make him a conscious racist. But it does make it a conversation worth having, because our unconscious associations don’t come from nowhere — they’re shaped by everything we’ve absorbed over a lifetime. That connotation being the first place his brain went is something that deserves acknowledgement, not just a pass because of the diagnosis. And as a POC, I have to be honest — this is heartbreaking. Not just the incident itself but what it represents.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to explain to white friends and colleagues that certain spaces feel uncomfortable, that you notice the stares, that you carry this constant low level awareness of how you might be being perceived. And so often the response is “you’re imagining it” or “you’re being too sensitive.” You get gaslit into doubting your own lived experience. Well — moments like this are exactly why it isn’t in our heads. This is the reality POC navigate every single day. Always on alert. Always doing that mental calculation of whether someone is judging you for the colour of your skin. That emotional labour is exhausting and largely invisible to people who’ve never had to carry it.

John thanking the audience for their “understanding” puts the burden entirely on those who were hurt to just get over it. That’s not the same as acknowledging the pain caused. AIBU to think a bit more than “thanks for understanding” was needed here — from both of them?

The BBC cut out JD calling Alan Cumming a pedophile at the BAFTAS.

www.them.us/story/john-davidson-baftas-tics-slur-alan-cumming-interview?client_service_name=them.&client_service_id=31178&service_user_id=1.78e+16&supported_service_name=instagram_publishing&utm_medium=social&utm_social_type=owned&utm_brand=them&utm_source=instagram&utm_content=instagram-bio-link&fbclid=PAT01DUAQM6hNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAacrKuUtAfWiwuhkdy7scLqrd1mBxdThD5b-1OarFM_EsN-7grkB3KdWSAZ6gQ_aem_bpohde3xdKSjWZ93-Ao2ow

Sorry for that horrible link. No idea how to edit it.

I’m one of the posters who advocated for it to be left in - not as a teaching moment at the expense of black people, but for the greater understanding of Tourettes, both from the pov of the disabled person themselves, and the unintended effects of the condition on those around them. I went to great lengths to clarify my opinion but this poster has completely ignored the nuances expressed by those of the same opinion. An odd stance from my point of view considering the importance they place on nuance themselves.

Yesterday one of my posts here-sharing the opinion of a black Tourettes sufferer Jhonelle Bean-was hidden, and I see no reason why, so I am posting it again. Sorry to post so many links, but it's interesting and I don't see why it should be hidden, since after all this thread is so very diverse and aims at diverse opinions.

https://slate.com/culture/2026/02/bafta-john-davidson-tourettes-michael-b-jordan-delroy-lindo-n-word.html

Er, no. I said no such thing. What l said was that you were failing to understand that in this context there was no racist slur because there was no intent - the comment was involuntary and not a product of the persons character or beliefs. Effectively you would be editing out the facets and traits of one section of society - disabled people - and pretending they don’t exist, so as to avoid offence to different section of society - people of colour.

You see it as a teaching moment you don’t want to engage with because you don’t see it as your responsibility, whereas l see it as incumbent on everyone to bring their experience to the table to exchange views, to educate and to enlighten. That unites people, enables true inclusivity and celebrates our differences instead of making them the source of oppression and prejudice.

The article is behind a pay wall. Which is a shame, because it would likely have sparked interesting debate.

In a better world, I would agree with you.

But it's a shit world, and as shown by the amount of abuse and hatred John Davidson has received over this, it should have been edited out.

It's not behind a paywall for me, but if you go here www.removepaywall.com/ paste the link address, and click on option two, it'll open the full article in a new tab.

A racist word was used.

One would hope that people present in the audience that night would've been properly informed that could be a possibility, and so could extend understanding.

But the result of broadcasting it while editing out other offensive words was that John Davidson was thrown into a social media furore he should have been protected from, and that two black men being called n---rs was shown internationally, shared all over the internet and immortalised forever.

For any black adults, teenagers, or children who watch the BAFTAs or see that clip online, it is a reminder that, no matter what they achieve or how much money and fame they have, when some people look at them, they will always be seen as being that word. It must be hugely painful and depressing.

Which is not to say that Davidson is racist, or consciously chose the word, or said it voluntarily, or that he thinks of them that way. But it is the word that his Tourette's condition thought was applicable at the time, to those people, in its cause to make him involuntarily spit out the most offensive thing possible against his will. It is a reflection of the racism present in society as a whole.

When that clip is memed by racists or shared everywhere by well-meaning people, without context or nuance, it harms both JD and MBJ & DL. Especially in light of the fact that it seems his other tics directed 'at' people were edited out. It makes it look like the BBC was trying to drum up publicity at the expense of everyone involved. (And it seems JD himself thought that his tics wouldn't be audible to anyone but the people sitting in immediate earshot.)

"But it is the word that his Tourette's condition thought was applicable at the time"

Disability has a deliberate intention? Tourette's itself can think?

This whole debate has people, yourself included, really digging deep to try to justify offence.

Yes, it sounds ridiculous doesn't it? But it's the wording that other posters insisted upon, while calling me ableist.

Posters said that me saying (in the context of a broader post) that he involuntarily shouted out the n word towards the two black men on stage because of his Tourette's, was me calling him racist – that he didn't say it at anyone, and that it wasn't him who said it at all, but rather his Tourette's.

It seemed bewildering to me too, but I was trying in the above comment to use whatever terminology would indicate I know he's not racist, so that people might actually engage with my points instead of avoiding them and knee-jerk accusing me of ableism. But apparently that's wrong of me too!

It's a shame you didn't want to address any of the points I made, just nitpicked at my language – the very thing I was tying myself in knots to try to avoid.

In plain language: Thanks to his Tourette's he shouted the n word because that's the slur that might come to mind if you were trying to think of the most offensive thing possible to say to black people. While he might not be racist, the incident and usage of that word was an ugly reflection of the racism embedded in society, and that could be painful and hurtful for black people to both hear, and be told to just accept with grace.

So, do you want to engage with the substance of my comment, or will you just avoid and nitpick some more?

And if we perpetuate the things that make it a shit world, how do we bring about change ? There has to be a first step.

Not by throwing a disabled, vunerable man under a bus.

I disagree. He shouted the word exactly because racism is so taboo in polite society. That is how the condition presents.

In plain language: Thanks to his Tourette's he shouted the n word because that's the slur that might come to mind if you were trying to think of the most offensive thing possible to say to black people. While he might not be racist, the incident and usage of that word was an ugly reflection of the racism embedded in society, and that could be painful and hurtful for black people to both hear, and be told to just accept with grace.

I absolutely get what you’re saying, really I do. But we all know what the word represents and the hurt it causes, so we’re all aware of the racism embedded in society, regardless of our own beliefs and values.

The use of the word in this incident doesn’t convey any racist intent because the Tourettes brain is presenting the word to the sufferer as the worst thing they could possibly say in that situation - the difference is that it then effectively forces them to say it unbidden. It’s random and Intent to cause offence wasn’t present, so there is no blame attached. Or shoudn’t be if the target of the involuntary tic is intelligent, compassionate and rational enough to accept that it’s the result of uncontrollable disability and doesn’t reflect the character or views of the person saying it. I’m absolutely not trying to diminish the effect of the use of that awful word and what it represents, but it’s the intent that matters, and here, there was none.

Plenty of things are both 'taboo' to speak of in 'polite company' while still being absolutely rife.

Or are you trying to say that western society isn't racist, and that's why he yelled it?

Maybe, just maybe anyone who is offended by it needs to grow a thicker skin. If you are black then own being black and dont let someone else tell you that it's offensive to call you a term used by black people to refer to themselves.
I was called a white flag often when I was a young teenager because I had to get the bus with a lot of Asian young men who were not particularly nice. Im white - I didn't take offense at their racism because I cannot be offended at tge truth... alternatively I wasn't a slave- ergo offense caused.

Well, yes, but with the caveat that he had no control over it and it didn’t convey any racist intent coming from his character.

I now think that anyone who has seen the mass social media hounding, and is at this point expressing anything other than horror, and concern for John's wellbeing, is being a terrible person.

I've seen people vilifying him, calling him racist, callling anyone that defends him racist, refusing to accept Tourettes exists, claiming he doesn't really have it, or that he has it "but", that he's a millionaire, that he did it deliberately, that he's been faking for decades He shouldn't have been at an event where the story of his life was being celebrated. He should have worn a muzzle. There have been people posting how they wish to hurt him, beat him, kill him. They've written blogs and thinkpieces deriding him, gone onto the Instagram page he uses for his Tourettes awareness and insulted him in their thousands. His explanations haven't been good enough. His apologies haven't been good enough. He's even been accused of doing blackface thanks to a scene in the film involving... paint.

And the man at the centre of this disgusting mass bulllying shitstorm? A 54 year old community centre caretaker who has recently had heart surgery, who has his whole life battled an extremely difficult condition, and done a huge amount to raise awareness of that condition in the UK.

They can get fucked. They are disgusting, pitiless, sociopathic bullies. Toddlers have more compassion.

Yes absolutely. That's an important point.

Do you think it is really your place to tell the black people who feel hurt by the word being shouted, and then not censored, and broadcast on international television, and shared all over the internet, that they are unintelligent, uncompassionate, and irrational for feeling that way?

Not raging at JD, or saying he's a horrible racist, but for feeling hurt by the usage of the word and all the weight of history it carries, and for being angry that the BBC didn't censor it (despite censoring other things), but instead decided everyone should hear two black men being called n---rs unexpectedly during the broadcast?

Blame is not necessary for hurt to occur. Even without intent, things can still have an impact.

It think it's possible to not blame JD and have sympathy for him and his condition, while still accepting that many black people may be – entirely reasonably – hurt or bothered by the entire incident.

Oh dear.

I think once it was understood that no intention racist incident had taken place, that should have been the absolute end of it in terms of centering the discussion around John Davidson.

At that point, it would have been appropriate to direct critisism or expect an apology from the BBC and the Baftas. Which to be fair, is what I've seen many people say.

But I've seen, and am literally still seeing on X, the mass abuse, bulllying and hounding of John himself, and there's no excuse for that.

You don't have to accept racist abuse from anyone, especially from people who - unlike Davidson- have no excuse or mitigating circumstance. You may be white, but a bunch of young men calling you a "white flag" on a bus was clearly designed to intimidate a young teen.

I would ground my son- an Asian man- if he tried that. Especially targeting a young teen.
FFS.

I think it's a messy situation because a lot of people don't have even a basic understanding of Tourette's, it seems, and the clip going online means everyone sees it. Including trolls, racists, ableists, people who are well meaning but uninformed... Hurt feelings are already embedded by the time people understand the condition, racists are enflaming the situation, and the lack of immediate apology from the BBC or JD (whether or not you think he should've) was not great optics.

It snowballs, basically.

But yes, at this point, he could've been anyone with Tourette's. It's not about him as much as it's about how the incident was handled, and the ableism and the racism that have sprung up in its wake.